Definition

1. Proper noun:

   • A district of Los Angeles, California: A specific geographical area that has become historically and culturally synonymous with the American film industry.
   • The American film industry: Used as a metonym to refer collectively to the major studios, celebrities, and business of filmmaking in the United States.

2. Noun:

   • A flashy, glamorous, and often vulgar style or atmosphere: A tone or quality perceived as characteristic of the American film industry, emphasizing superficial glamour, extravagance, and sensationalism.

3. Adjective:

   • Relating to the American film industry: Pertaining to its movies, celebrities, studios, or culture.
   • Flashy and vulgar; imitating the perceived style of Hollywood: Characterized by showy, ostentatious, and sometimes tasteless glamour.

Examples of Usage

• Proper noun:

  • She moved to Hollywood to pursue her acting career.
  • Hollywood has been the center of the American film industry for over a century.

• Noun:

  • The magazine's photoshoot had all the Hollywood of a major movie premiere.
  • He criticized the political campaign for its Hollywood and lack of substance.

• Adjective:

  • He is a famous Hollywood director.
  • The party had a very Hollywood feel, with paparazzi and a red carpet.

Advanced Usage

• "Tinseltown": A nickname for Hollywood, emphasizing its glittering but sometimes superficial nature.

  • After years in Tinseltown, she grew tired of the constant scrutiny.

• "Hollywood ending": An improbably perfect, happy, or neatly resolved conclusion, typical of many mainstream films.

  • Real life rarely offers a Hollywood ending.

Variants and Related Words

• Hollywoodian (adj): Pertaining to or characteristic of Hollywood. (Less common)
• Hollywoodize (verb): To make something resemble or conform to the style or values of Hollywood.
  • The studio wanted to Hollywoodize the original story, making it more commercial.

Synonyms

• Film industry (for the industry sense)
• Show business (broader term)
• Glamorous (for the adjective sense, though not a direct synonym)
• Tinsel (for the noun sense implying glittering superficiality)

Related Phrases

• "Go Hollywood": To adopt a flashy, glamorous, or affected lifestyle associated with film celebrities.

  • Ever since he got that big role, he's completely gone Hollywood.

• "Hollywood kiss": A stylized, dramatic kiss as often depicted in movies.

• "Hollywood smile": A very wide, perfect, and often artificially white smile.

Related Idioms

• "All that glitters is not gold": This proverb is often invoked in discussions about Hollywood to suggest that its apparent glamour may hide less attractive realities.
• "Lights, camera, action!": The classic film set command, emblematic of Hollywood filmmaking.

Adjective

1. flashy and vulgar
   • young white women dressed Hollywood style
   • Hollywood philandering
2. of or relating to the film industry in the United States
   • a Hollywood actor

Noun

1. a district of Los Angeles long associated with the American film industry
2. a flashy vulgar tone or atmosphere believed to be characteristic of the American film industry
   • some people in publishing think of theirs as a glamorous medium so they copy the glitter of Hollywood
3. the film industry of the United States